Story By: MIKE LEONE / RUSH RACING SERIES – IMPERIAL, PA – After three weekends off, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Dirt Late Model Flynn’s Tire Touring Series presented by Born2Run Lubricants is set to return to action this weekend at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway for the annual “Bill Hendren Memorial”.
Friday night (September 29) will be a complete show for $4,000 to-win, while Saturday night will be a complete show for $10,000 to-win!
The following sponsors have made this the richest “Bill Hendren Memorial” to date: FK Rod Ends, City Chevrolet, Pro Fab, Hendren Racing Engines, West Mifflin Collision, All Interior Painting, Keyser Manufacturing, Stan’s Transmission, and Branden Lockwich. Also, Northeast Paving and Sealcoat is presenting a two-night points fund! Friday night will be streamed live via The Cushion and Saturday by FloRacing. Saturday’s event will be part of the “Pittsburgher” with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.
Keyser Manufacturing has added $1,500 into Friday night’s purse making it $4,000 to-win, which will be the kickoff to the 35th annual “Pittsburgher” weekend and the eighth straight year the “Bill Hendren Memorial” has taken place at “Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile”! Positions 2-6 will receive a $100 boost in payoff from the typical $3,000 to-win payoff.
On Saturday night, the Flynn’s Tire Tour will join up once again with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the third time of the season in a huge fashion as $10,000 will be on the line with $450 to-start the 40-lap event. Saturday’s D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier has an increased payoff throughout with $400 to-win. Earlier this season, RUSH competed on the same card as LOLMDS at Lernerville’s “Firecracker 100” in which Max Blair won the $20,000 in the “Bill Emig Memorial” presented by Sunoco Race Fuels along with support from TBM Brakes. And most recently, Blair scored a $4,000 victory in the “Cider Jug 40” with the LOLMDS part of the “Hillbilly 100” on September 3.
Each night, the “Bob Bentz Memorial” Sunoco Dash presented by Stan’s Transmission will set the beginning rows of the feature line-up. Friday night’s dash will have a $500 cash purse with $200 to-win plus a $100 Sunoco fuel card, $100 for second, $50 for third through sixth! Saturday night’s dash will have a $1,000 cash purse with $400 to-win plus a $100 Sunoco fuel card, $200 for second, $150 for third, $125 for fourth, $75 for fifth, and $50 for sixth! Special thanks to Bob C. Bentz for putting up $1,500 cash to remember his late father.
Northeast Paving and Sealcoat is presenting the inaugural “Bill Hendren Memorial” Weekend Championship points fund. The champion for the two nights will receive $1,000 amongst the $2,715 (breakdown posted below)! In the event of a tie for the championship, first tiebreaker is best finish of the weekend, second tiebreaker is second best finish of the weekend, and third tiebreaker is fastest qualifying lap of the weekend. If a tie happens in any other position, the tie will remain with point fund monies added up between the tied positions and split equally. The typical RUSH points system will be utilized. One driver now could win nearly $16,000 cash plus contingencies this weekend!
Also thanks to Art’s Radiator for providing 50 radiator caps to be given away to each competing driver over the weekend!
There have been 16 events completed with seven different winners in RUSH Late Model action this season at Pittsburgh. Brandon Burgoon leads the way with five victories and sits atop the City Chevrolet Track Pack points. Kyle Lukon has three City Chevrolet Weekly Series victories, while Tim Shaffer, Ben Policz, and Tommy Schirnhofer, Jr. all have a pair. Single victories include John Mollick and Michael Norris.
There have been 26 RUSH Tour events completed all-time at Pittsburgh with 14 different winners. Track standouts Lukon and Norris, who won this year’s “Jook George Steel City Classic”, each have five victories over three-time winner, Ryan Montgomery. The only other repeat winners are track regular Daryl Charlier and along with Jeremy Wonderling. Single wins go to Schirnhofer, Colton Flinner, Mollick, Mike Pegher, Jr., Jacob Hawkins, Garret Paugh, Levi Crowl, Kyle Hardy, and Logan Roberson.
Three-time Series Champion Jeremy Wonderling enters the weekend with a commanding 84-point lead in the race for the $15,000 Flynn’s Tire Touring Series championship. Wonderling won last year’s “Bill Hendren Memorial” part of his record-tying four straight wins. This season, Wonderling leads the way with eight, which came during a 12-race stretch from May 13 through August 8.
Joe Martin, who has finished second in points each of the last three years, currently sits in the runner-up position, but only leads Mike Wonderling by four points. Mike Wonderling is fresh off a runner-up finish at Tyler County Speedway. The oldest of the three Wonderling brothers has six podium finishes as he continues to knock on the door for his first career Flynn’s Tire Tour victory.
Delaware’s Cody Dawson is fourth in points over 13-year-old New York racer Brock Pinkerous, who is also second in Futures Cup points. Ashton Briggs, Jim Rasey, Austin Hauser, Craig Graham and Brandt Graham complete the top 10 in points. Brandt Graham currently leads the D&V Jewelers “Wheelman Bonus Event Challenges” Series points over his father Craig as the Canadian pair are in their second year following the Tour.
In 2005, Bill Hendren, the patriarch of the Hendren family and founder of Hendren Racing Engines, had the foresight to began building his affiliation with crate racing. As many of his open engine customers looked to crate racing as an opportunity to continue racing Bill began offering free advice via the well know 4M.net message board. As the concept grew throughout the country, his generosity and expertise was rewarded as many of those who had utilized his knowledge in the beginning utilized him as their engine rebuilder as their needs arose. Bill passed away on March 19, 2011, but his legacy and dedication to crate racing lives on through his sons, Steve and Mike, as the Hendrens are recognized throughout the entire country as a leader in this specialized form of racing as they continue to operate Hendren Racing Engines.
“I’ll never forget the day several years ago I received surprise phone call from Steve Hendren expressing interest in having a memorial event for his late father Bill Hendren in conjunction with a RUSH Touring event,” explained Emig. “Although I never knew Bill Hendren personally, I certainly was well aware of his pioneering spirit and great success in the world of Chevrolet Performance crate engine racing. And to have the Hendren Family allow us to hold their patriarch’s only memorial event of the year under the RUSH banner for the 11th straight year is truly an honor. What Steve and his family continue to do for this event is tremendous! We have to thank all of the contributors as well as Blair Cress, Jr. for allowing this event to be part of the ‘Pittsburgher’ weekend.”
Steve Hendren, who will be making the trip up to Pittsburgh, was inducted into the Antioch (CA) Speedway Hall of Fame shortly after the 2021 event. Hendren raced at the track weekly in the Late Model division from 1990-1993 winning 40 races and was the 1992 and 1993 champion. In 1992, Hendren won 25 features in 44 starts with 15 of them coming at Antioch, which propelled him to the NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional Championship.
Last year was the first time the event paid $10,000 to-win and it was Jeremy Wonderling winning the biggest race of his career. In addition to the feature and D&V Jewelers non-qualifier purses posted each night, $100 FK Rod Ends “Shock the Clock” Qualifying and $25 to-win FK Rod Ends heat races will take place nightly. The “Fill’er up with Sunoco Bucks” program will include an additional $400 of Sunoco fuel card giveaways each night; two $100 random draws for drivers in the top 15 of Tour points and another four $50 random draws for all other competitors.
Precise Racing Products will award a $50 gift card for the “Pedal Down” Hard Charger that passes the most cars in the feature. The TBM Brakes “Tough Brake of the Night” will award three bottles of Xtreme6 Racing Brake Fluid. Ontime Body & Graphic’s “Spoiler Alert” will award a spoiler kit to the 18th place finisher (note: if a driver has already won a spoiler this season, spoiler will be awarded to the next position). Performance Bodies will award a $100 gift card to the first non-qualifier part of the “Nosed Out” program.
“Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 1 Feature Payoff (30 laps): 1. $4,000 2. $1,600 3. $900 4. $750 5. $700 6. $600 7. $475 8. $450 9. $425 10. $400 11. $325 12. $300 13. $275 14. $270 15. $265 16. $260 17. $255 18-24. $250 (25-26. $250).
D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier Night 1 Payoff: 1. $200 2. $190 3. $185 4. $180 5. $175 6. $170 7. $165 8. $160 9. $155 10-24. $150. Tow $125
Pittsburgh “Bill Hendren Memorial” Night 2 Feature Payoff (40 laps): 1. $10,000 2. $5,000 3. $2,500 4. $2,000 5. $1,500 6. $1,200 7. $1,000 8. $900 9. $800 10. $700 11. $650 12. $625 13. $600 14. $550 15. $525 16. $500 17. $490 18. $480 19. $470 20. $460 21-24. $450 (25-26. $450).
D&V Jewelers Non-Qualifier Night 2 Payoff: 1. $400 2. $250 3. $200 4. $190 5. $185 6. $180 7. $175 8. $170 9. $165 10-24. $160. Tow $125.
Northeast Paving and Sealcoat “Bill Hendren Memorial” Weekend Championship Points Fund: 1. $1,000 2. $500 3. $300 4. $200 5. $150 6. $130 7. $120 8. $110 9. $105 10. $100.
You do not have to be a member of RUSH to compete only to receive Weekly and/or Tour points. The entry fee is $100 each night. AMB/MyLaps transponders will be used; Westhold transponders will NOT work. Units are available to rent for $25. Driver radio channel will be 453.800.
For Friday and Saturday pits will be open all day. RUSH registration will open by 3 p.m. with the drivers meeting at 5:35 p.m. Warm-ups are slated for 6 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing.